Bridge assemblies



Dec. 17, 1968 a. M. HUTCHINSON 3,416,175

BRIDGE ASSEMBLIES Filed April 25. 1966 v 1 .8 ,1 1% M-W) Baa 5Sheets-Sheet 1 1958 B. M. HUTCHINSON 3,

BRIDGE ASSEMBLIES Filed April 25. 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 17, 1968 B.M. HIJTCHINSON 3,416,175

BRIDGE ASSEMBLIES Filed April 25, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 17, 1968 IB, HUTCHINSQN 3,416,175

BRIDGE ASSEMBLIES Filed April 25. 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 17, 1968 a.HUTCHINSON 3,416,115;

BRIDGE ASSEMBLIES Filed- April 25. 1966 5 Shee t S-Sheet s United StatesPatent BRIDGE ASSEMBLIES Benjamin M. Hutchinson, 37 Great James St-,London W.C.1, England Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 544,798 Claimspriority, application Great Britain, Apr. 28, 1965,

19 Claims. (Cl. 14-1) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention may beapplied to road bridges which support a carriageway and may be utilisedin the construction of portable overpasses.

According to the present invention as assembly of parts for constructinga bridge includes bridging elements carried by supports which can pivotabout a substantially horizontal axis and span portions having endsadapted to co-operate with the ends of the bridging elements so that thebridging elements and span portions can be connected together to providea bridge length, variations in the vertical height of which can beaccommodated by varying the vertical height and angular position of thesupports about their pivots.

Thus, the assembly of parts according to the invention can includestandard size span portions which can be used with supports of differentheights to build up a span of a bridge, the precise vertical curvatureof which can be varied according to the requirements of the particularlocation. Moreover, as the various parts can be standard size, thebridge can be dismantled and re-erected some where else using thevarious parts as required, provided the method of connecting the partstogether can be disconnected. The pivoting supports can adapt themselvesto different angles by tilting about their pivot points. Preferablychamfered surfaces are provided on the ends of the bridging elements andthe ends of the span portions, the upper edges of the chamfers on eachend of the bridging elements being displaced inwardly in relation to thelower edges, and spacer pieces may be arranged for fitting between thechamfered surfaces of the bridging elements and the span portions which,if required may be wedge shaped or may have parallel sides.

In order to provide for horizontal curvature of the erected bridge, atleast one of the bridging elements and/ or span portions may be providedwith a longitudinally extending side of greater length than the otherand con veniently one of the span portions may thus be curved in ahorizontal plane.

In any case, in a preferred arrangement each bridging element and spanportion includes a longitudinally extending girder member on which thechamfered ends are formed and in a convenient arrangement each bridgingelement and span portion includes a pair of transversely spaced girdermembers.

According to one preferred arrangement the span portions and bridgingelements are provided with a number of releasable panels the uppersurfaces of which form partof a carriageway operating surface.

Preferably the supports are pivoted to uprights and each support may bein the form of a bifurcated element, the arms of which are displacedfrom one another at their outer ends, and between which the associatedbridging element extends.

With this arrangement each bridging element may be carried by a pair ofsupports which are displaced from one another along the mutual axisabout which they pivot and the ends of the supports may be connected toone another at their upper ends by transversely extending portals or,they may be interconnected by cross-bracing.

Safety barriers may be included which can be erected along the sides ofthe bridge and which comprise a longitudinal extending flexibledeflector shield which is arranged at an angle to the vertical and whichextends transversely from a lower edge adjacent a carriageway carried bythe bridge to an upper edge which is outwardly and upwardly displacedtherefrom, and the shield may be made from a mesh materia The inventionalso includes a bridge assembled from the parts set forth above.

Thus, a bridge as set forth which can be dismantled and re-erected mayhave a carriageway surface which is made up from a number of releasablepanels, each panel having an upper surface which forms part of thecarriageway operating surface.

According to another aspect of the invention a bridge made up from anassemply of parts as set forth above may include a number of bridgingelements and span portions, the vertical height of the bridging elementsupports being arranged so that a carriageway supported by the assemblyis of different vertical heights at its ends with relation to a midpointso that the carriageway constitutes an overpass with respect to anothercarriageway which passes beneath it.

The invention may be performed in various ways but some embodiments willnow be described by way of example and with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a general side elevation of road bridge according to theinvention,

FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 are side elevations of various applications of thebridge,

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional end elevation of a bridge according to theinvention,

FIGURE 6 shows three alternative arrangements for supporting the spanmembers.

FIGURES 7a and 7b are cross the use of a concrete or steel portal FIGURE8 shows a method of sembly to extend the width of an side.

FIGURE 9 is a detail side elevation of various parts according to oneconstruction, in position.

FIGURE 10 is a cross sectional end elevation of the parts shown inFIGURE 9,

FIGURE 11 is a plan view showing how the elements can be connectedtogether to having a curvature in a horizontal plane,

FIGURE 12 is a side view of an alternative construction made inreinforced concrete material, and

FIGURE 13 is a cross sectional view of part of the arrangement shown inFIGURE 12.

FIGURE 1 shows a bridge built according to the invention which is in theform of an overpass to support a carriageway which is intended to passover a pair of carriageways and which comprises a number of supports 1the vertical heightof which increases to a mid-point at the centre ofthe bridge. The two roads over which the overpass is intended to passare indicated by the reference numeral 2. The supports 1 are arranged intransversely spaced pairs and are carried on uprights 3 which stand anoverpass sectional views showing utilising the bridge asexisting road ona hillbridging form a bridge on suitable bases indicated at 4. Each ofthe supports 1 are in the form of a bifurcated element, the arms 5 ofwhich are displaced from one another at their outer ends and the lowerends of the support being pivoted at 6 to a foot 7 which is carried bythe upright 3. As the uprights 3 are of different vertical heights theheight of the supports is varied. Each pair of supports 1 carries abridging element 8 which extend transversely between them and thelongitudinal length of which is slightly greater than the distanceacross the bifurcated arms 5 of the supports. Each bridging element 8comprises a pair of transversely spaced I-section girders 9 which areconnected tothe outer ends of the bifurcated elements 5 and the ends ofwhich are chamfered so that the upper side of the girder is shorter thanthe lower side. The upper side of the girder is arranged to support acarriageway in a manner which is to be described in more detail.

A span portion 10 is arranged to extend between each pair of supports,this span portion 10 being of a similar construction to the bridgingelements 8 and comprising a pair ,of lower transversely spaced girders11 on which a carriageway is supported.

The ends of the girders 11 on the span portions are chamfered in asimilar but opposite manner to the ends of the girders 9 the angle beingapproximately 30 so that when the span portion is lowered into positionbetween the bridging elements the chamfered portions cooperate toinitially support it. In the arrangement shown in FIG- URE 1 thedistance between the supports is a standard size based on a particularunit length so that the distance between any two supports is known.Thus, a standard span portion can be placed in position the lengththereof being one or two or three times the standard unit. It will beappreciated that the pivoted mounting of the supports and also thechamfered ends of the span portions and the bridging elements enablesthe construction to easily stimulate movement due to the expansion andcontraction of a metallic construction and assists in the rapid assemblythereof.

At the lower ends of the bridge, where it reaches ground level thebifurcated supports are replaced by smaller supports 12 so that lessvertical space is used and the height of the uprights 3 is decreaseduntil the carriage level reaches the road surface 13 from which it isintended to rise.

The same parts can be used to build a number of constructions which canact as an overpass and some alternative arrangements are shown inFIGURES 2, 3 and 4. In each of the cases shown the bridge is used tospan a dual carriageway road 2 but it will be appreciated that theassembly can be used for any other purpose for which a bridge isrequired.

FIGURE 5 is a cross section of an arrangement which can be used with anyof the above constructions and which utilises three supports intransverse alignment the pivots being similarly aligned and each supportcarrying a girder 9 to provide a base for a carriageway indicated at 14.

Any number of supports could be used as is necessary and if required asingle support of unitary construction for each bridging element 8 couldbe utilised.

In the arrangements shown in FIGURE 6 alternative forms of supports areindicated, the length of the bifurcated arms 5a, 5b, 5c and the uprights3a, 3b being varied, and as will be seen in the right hand portion ofthe drawing the support or upright is dispensed with, the foot 7c beingmounted directly onto a foundation. The arrangement shown at the lefthand side of the drawing could be used for a post tensioned precastreinforced concrete construction or structural steel in various lengths.The arrangement shown in the centre could also be made in structuralsteel or reinforced concrete and the arrangement shown in the right handside could be made again from structural steel or reinforced concrete ora combination of both in various standard lengths, and various angularbifurcations and could be used where the bridge is intended to run at afairly constant height above the ground.

FIGURE 7a is a cross section through an assembly according to theinvention which may be used with any suitable construction and shows theuse of portal bracing. The portal 15a can be made from any suitablematerial such as reinforced concrete, or steel and is arranged to extendtransversely between a pair of support arms 5a. In the arrangement shownin FIGURE 7a the uprights 3a are tall and the portal 15a is of shortvertical height whereas in the arrangement shown in FIGURE 7b the portal15b has long sides 16b and the bifurcated supports 5b are of longervertical height, being pivoted at 6b near ground level. The use of sucha portal increasing the head room beneath the supported road way butwhere such head room is not required scissors bracing could be used asshown for example in FIGURE 5.

In the arrangement shown in FIGURE 8 the assembly is used to extend thewidth of an existing road. In this case, a support is only provided atone side of the bridging elements and span portions 10 and again thesame refer ence numerals are utilised to indicate the same parts, thereference numeral 2 being used to indicate an existing road and thehill-side being indicated by the reference numeral 17.

FIGURES 9 and 10 show a particular construction according to theinvention in more detail and once again the same reference numerals areused to indicate the same parts. As will be seen the construction shownin these figures is made up from fabricated steel and lower ends of thebifurcated arms 5 carry pivot plates 18 through which a pivot pin 19 ispassed to pivotally connect each bifurcated arm 5 to its foot 7. Thefoot 7 is carried on a base plate 20 which is arranged above the columnmade up of pre-cast concrete blocks 21. The blocks 21 are maintained inposition by steel rods 22 which pass through them and which are helddown by nuts 23 at their upper ends. The lower ends of the rods 22. arefirmly anchored in a base 24 which may be above or below ground level.With this construction it will be appreciated that the height of theuprights 3 can be easily varied by altering the number of blocks, 21.

Diagonal bracing in the form of an angle section girders. are indicatedby reference numeral 25 extends between each of the transversely spacedarms of a pair of supports 1 to provide the necessary rigidity but thesecould of course be replaced by a portal 15 as described with referenceto FIGURE 7. The upper end of each of the arms 5 is securely welded to agirder 9 which is of 1- section and between which extend a pair oftransverse cross members 26 which are also in the form of I-sectiongirders. These girders are firmly secured to the girders 9 and stools 27made from girder cuttings are also indicated and the cross members arecut away so that they extend transversely beyond the width between thegirders 9, the extension being indicated at 28 on FIGURE 10. A number oflongitudinally extending small I-sections girders 29 are firmly securedto the upper edge of the cross girder 26 and a carriageway 14 is carriedon these longitudinal girders.

' The construction of the span portions 10 is similar to the bridgingportions 8 and comprises the longitudinal transversely spaced girders10, an appropriate number of transverse girders 30 which perform asimilar function to the transverse girders 26, and longitudinallyextending smaller I-section girders 31 which are similar to I-sectiongirders 29 on the bridging portions. Stools 32 similar to stools 27 arealso provided and the outer ends of the girders 30 are cut away in asimilar manner to those of girders 26.

Spacer pieces 33 are provided between the chamfered engagement surfaces35, 36 on the ends of the girders 9 and 11 so that any differencebetween them can be accommodated as required. The spacer pieces 33 cantherefore be wedge shaped or have parallel sides as shown in FIGURE 9and they are held in position by face pieces 34 secured to the bridgingelement and the span portion. Thus, the load is carried partly betweenthe face pieces 34 and the spacer 33 between the chamfers.

The carriageway 14 which is laid across the bridge is made up from anumber of releasable panels 37, each panel extending approximately halfway across the carriageway and, in the arrangement shown in FIGURES 9and being of such a length that each bridging portion carries two suchpanels. As the various portions of the bridging members and the spanportions are of unitary dimension the panels, which are also of aunitary dimension can be accommodated. Each panel comprises a layer ofwooden batterns 38 which are suitably connected to each other to providea surface which is covered with asphalt indicated at 39. Each panel 37is laid in position on the carrier I-section girders 29 and the centrecarrier 29 carries a series of up-standing bolts 40. Similar bolts 41are provided at prepared distances which correspond to the length of thepanels along the outer carrier girder 29, so that the outer edges ofeach panel can be clamped down. The panels can be quickly positioned byplacing them between the bolts and when all the panels are in position,retaining clamping members in the form of metal strips 42 are laid overthe bolts, suitable holes being provided so that the clamping metalstrips can be locked into position by nuts. The longitudinal ends of thepanels abut each other and are sealed by tarred sisal sea-ls. The sideedges of each panel are stepped, as shown in 43 so that the bolts 41, 42are below the general surface of the carriageway 14 and a space isprovided above the sisal seal, the grooves thus provided between thesides of the panels when in position can be filled with asphalt ifdesired and rubberised bitumen can be laid in the transverse groovesabove the sisal muffs being provided over the nuts. If the bridge is tobe dismantled, the asphalt and nut mufis can be removed and the nutsundone so that the complete carriageway can be easily removed.

A wooden curve 44 is provided at the outer edge of the carriageway andis spaced from a series of crash barrier supports 45 by means of achannel section spacer 46. Each of the crash barrier supports is rigidlyconnected to the outer end of the girder 26 and the upper ends of thesupports 45 are interconnected by means of a guard rail 47, anintermediately longitudinally extending guard rail 47a also beingprovided. A safety barrier in the form of a longitudinally extendingflexible deflector shield i". also provided this being in the form of ashield of plastic coated galvanised mesh 48 which is arranged at anangle to the vertical and which extends transversely from a lower edge49 which is connected to the curb 44 and is adjacent the carriageway toan upper edge 50 which is outwardly and upwardly displaced therefrom andwhich is connected to a point adjacent the other guide rail 47.

The space beneath the channel section spacer 46 and curb 44 can be usedto carry electrical services, and in the arrangement shown in FIGURE 10a drain 51 is also provided for the carriageway 14.

In an alternative arrangement shown in FIGURES 12 and 13 the supports 3are made frontreinforced concrete and the bifurcated arms 5 are castinto the portion which constitutes the longitudinally extending girder9. In this case the pivot is made from a pair of interengaging curvedfaces 52, 53 provided at the base of the arms 5 and the upper end of theupright 3. The cross girders 26 are also made from reinforced concretematerial and extensions 28 are also provided. In this case thecarriageway may be formed as a deck of precast or in situ reinforcedconcrete. The latter would have some technical advantages, because adeck of this type would be lighter than a precast one. In thisarrangement the junctions between the girders 9 and 10 can also be madein situ by the use of a trough shaped removable steel form, indicated inbroken lines at 54 which also forms the erection support. In thisarrangement changes in horizontal direction of the carriageway wouldtake place at these points, the shape of the removable steel form beingaltered appropriately. It will be appreciated that appropriate steelreinforcing will be provided at the joint.

As shown in FIGURE 11 curves in a horizontal direction in the steelarrangement described with reference to FIGURES 9 and 10 would beachieved by forming the girders 10 of only very short length and curvingthem appropriately. In an alternative arrangement the actual lengths ofthe girders 10 in a particular length could be arranged so that one wasshorter than the other, thus providing the necessary shorting to curvethe carriageway in a horizontal plane or the length of the girders 9 onthe bridging elements could be arranged in a similar manner.

If required. :ross bracing can be arranged between uprights 3, as isshown at 55 in FIGURE 1.

The .bridge assembly described above can be used in a number ofdifferent ways and if necessary could be used to support a railway,road, or a conveyor or for any other particular requirement.

What I claim is:

1. A bridge comprising a plurality of longitudinally adjacent bridgingelements, each of said bridging elements including a rigid generallyhorizontally extending portion constituting a part of the bridge length,a support beneath each bridging element and between opposite terminalends thereof, an upright beneath each support, pivot means connectingeach support to its upright at a point between the terminal ends of itsassociated bridging element for pivoting each bridging element about ahorizontal axis generally transverse to the bridge length, said pivotmeans being the sole articulatable connection between said supports andsaid uprights, rigid span portions extending between longitudinallyadjacent pairs of said bridging elements, and means connecting togetherthe rigid span portions and the bridging elements.

2. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein several of said pivot pointsof said supports are disposed at different vertical heights therebydisposing associated bridging elements and the span portions thereof atangles to the horizontal.

3. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein said span portions haveopposite terminal ends, and the terminal ends of said bridging elementsand span portions have cooperative chamfered surfaces.

4. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein each support includes abifurcated element the arms of which are joined to an associated one ofsaid horizontally extending portions.

5. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein each support includes abifurcated element the arms of which are joined to an associated one ofsaid horizontally extending portions, and the arms of said bifurcatedelements are joined to said last-mentioned horizontally extendingportion inboard of the terminal ends thereof.

6. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein said span portions haveopposite terminal ends, the terminal ends of said bridging elements andspan portions have cooperative chamfered surfaces, and the upper edgesof the ohamfered surfaces of one of the pair of terminal ends aredisposed inwardly in relationship to the lower edges thereof.

7. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein said span portions haveopposite terminal ends, the terminal ends of said bridging elements andspan portions have cooperative chamfered surfaces in opposedrelationship, and spacer pieces disposed between the latter-mentionedsurfaces of the bridging elements and span portions.

8. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein said bridging elements haveopposite longitudinal sides, and the length of one of the longitudinalsides of one of the bridging elements is longer than the oppositelongitudinal side thereof.

9. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein said span portions haveopposite longitudinal sides, and the length of a longitudinal side ofone of the span portions is longer than an opposite longitudinal sidethereof.

10. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of the spanportions is curved in a horizontal plane.

11. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein said span portions haveopposite terminal ends, the. terminal ends of said bridging elements andspan portions have cooperative charnfered surfaces, and said charnferedsurfaces are defined by terminal end faces of girder members.

12. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein said span portions andbridging elements are provided with a plurality of releasable panelshaving upper surfaces defining the operating surface of a roadway of thebridge.

13. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein said span portions andbridging elements are provided with a plurality of releasable panelshaving upper surfaces defining the operating surface of a roadway of thebridge, and clamping means for releasably securing the panels inposition by acting upon edges thereof.

14. The bridge as defined in claim 1 wherein are provided transverselyextending portals for securing together transversely adjacent pairs ofsaid bridging elements.

15. The bridge as defined in claim 2 wherein said span portions haveopposite terminal ends, and the terminal ends of said bridging elementsand span portions have cooperative ohamfered surfaces.

16. The bridge as defined in claim 2 wherein each support includes abifurcated element the arms of which are joined to an associated one ofsaid horizontally extending portions.

17. The bridge as defined in claim 2 wherein said span portions haveopposite terminal ends, the terminal ends of said bridging elements andspan portions have cooperative chamfered surfaces, and the upper edgesof the charnfered surfaces of one of the pair of terminal ends aredisposed inwardly in relationship to the lower edges thereof.

18. The bridge as defined in claim 2 wherein each support includes abifurcated element the arms of which are joined to an associated one ofsaid horizontally extending portions, and the arms of said bifurcatedelements are joined to said last-mentioned horizontally extendingportion inboard of the terminal ends thereof.

19. The bridge as defined in claim 3 wherein each support includes abifurcated element the arms of which are joined to an associated one ofsaid horizontally extending portions, and the arms of said bifurcatedelements are joined to said last-mentioned horizontally extendingportion inboard of the terminal ends thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,979 8/ 1934 Robb 14--l2,079,095 5/1937 Wichert 14--4 2,306,311 12/ 1942 Holland 14--12,355,473 8/1944 Savage 141 2,687,225 8/1954 Martin.

2,192,269 3/ 1940 Maddock 14--l7 2,367,291 1/ 1945 Letourneau l4-1 JACOBL. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner.

